There is another change in the newsletter. We have been trying for many months to get our newsletter to be simple, effective and newsy. After many trys and false starts we have decided to put it on the Association page, then notify you by e-mail that it is ready. The Rabbits are so busy hopping around cemeteries and doing research that we all need a very simple plan to keep things running. In the near future you will see other changes in the Graveyard Rabbit.

Will we have to create a tombstone with the name "Simplify" on it?

Spring is getting closer so this newsletter comes with wishes for you to start spying out new cemeteries. The best time is now before the bugs start biting.

Gale and Diane

In the NewsUnion Vets’ Graves Registration Database

The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War(SUVCW)

National Graves Registration Project was established in 1996. Since then, hundreds of dedicated people from within and without the organization have graciously devoted thousands of hours of their time and energy visiting cemeteries, recording, verifying, researching and entering the final resting places of Civil War veterans.From the beginning, one thing was missing - the means for the SUVCW and the general public to search and view the results of our labor on the Internet. As the number of registrations grew, it was also apparent that duplication of effort and waste of time was reaching and unacceptable level, without knowledge of what was completed and what needed further investigation. The National Graves Registration Database(http://www.suvcwdb.org/home) is now available to all. The database was activated February 22, 2005. This will make all original registrations available for viewing by the general public, as well as allowing for new registrations to be entered through our online program. Depending on the source referenced, there were between 4.2 and 4.8 million Union Civil War Veterans. Due to mass burials, unreported battlefield losses, burials at sea and other circumstances, it can never be expected that all Union graves will be registered. (Submitted by Gen. W. S. Rosecrans Camp No. 2,Department of California & Pacific, Sons of UnionVeterans of the Civil War.)

Featured Graveyard Blog

This story is unbelievable, shocking and way too common. It is from Ruth Coker Burks at last2cu.

"My family has been looking for 60 years for tombstones that had been thrown in Lake Hamilton from our family cemetery; a land developer did this during the Great Depression and sold the land to rich folks from out of town so that they could build houses on the new lake... I have looked for the tombstones all of my life and today I found what I believe to be my great grandmother, Mary Etta (Mollie) Gardner Clay’s tomb... " To follow and read more see last2cu.

I am trying to find Peter & Polly Ingersoll but they disappeared. They were in Fairplay Township, Greene County, Indiana in the 1820 & 1830. Their son Peter and his wife, Martha, are buried in the Worthington Cemetery. I presume they died before 1840 as no mention of them in any subsequent census. And they are not mentioned being with any family member(s). Who can help me locate them? Michelle Johnson mip://03fc5b48/bachcrimjust@yahoo.com>

Gravely Interesting

In the 1800s rings or brooches might have the word "MIZPAH" engraved on them. It is interesting, but what does it mean?Mizpah is an emotional bond between people who are separated. Mizpah jewelery was worn to indicate a love bond and was popular as a sentimental gift or mourning jewelry. It comes from the Old Testament, Genesis 31:49. "...The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent, one from another."How perfect for a dearly departed.

We need some the talent from the world of Graveyard Rabbits. We need a carnival guide. If you have a little bit of time each month, please consider this opportunity. It is a job of getting out the carnival ideas and presenting them to all the GYRs on a monthly schedule. Please notify the newsletter editors of your willingness to keep the carnival going.